There is no safe space in the world. Not your neighborhood. Not your home. Neither the middle of the forest nor the middle of the city. Not your favorite vacation spot. Not your beloved church. No place — familiar or foreign — is absolutely guaranteed to be safe. (There aren’t really safe people either. “For… Read More
Tuesday Prayer
Image by Sigurd Decroos via rgbstock.com Broken-hearted Friend, The voices of the persecuted children ring in our ears and we cannot stop them (we must not!) And we know these are only echoes of the myriad voices we have not heard over the years Refused to hear Excused ourselves from knowing about “That was then”… Read More
The Pastoral is Political
The road signs are blooming in our neck of the woods. Early voting has begun for the primaries which will decide who we vote for in the fall general elections. It’s been an interesting process. For the first time, both of our young adult progeny are informed voters. They are seriously evaluating candidates’ literature. Their interest… Read More
Sunday Prayer: Love & Mercy
God of all love and mercy, forgive us. We have failed one another — we have failed your image in each person and all creation. God of all love and mercy, surprise us. With mustard seeds, with wild dreams, with grace, replace our self-assurance with childlike wonder. God of all love and mercy, restore us.… Read More
Saturday Prayer – Prayer for Pride
Holy One, Today I was reminded again what I keep forgetting. That this kind of Pride, the Pride for which we march, the Pride we celebrate, has an opposite, too. This Pride’s opposite is not humility, it is shame. So we gather and we march and we revel not because we lack humility. But because we stand… Read More
Friday Prayer: Persist
Oh Holy One, As we persist we find the strength to grow despite the pain despite the worry and as one day rolls into the next, we can look back and see your faithfulness, your strength in our weakness, your love in the hardest places, and your promises new every morning. Surprise us again with… Read More
Ask the Matriarch: “Will You Vouch for Me?”
People look to us pastors to support them in a variety of ways, and we like to offer that support when we can. Where is the limit to the supportive roles we pastors can play? Read on . . . Dear Matriarchs: A couple in my congregation has wanted children for a long time and… Read More
Thursday Prayer: Being present
As the day begins with all that lies ahead of me you, O God, are present. Help me also to be present. In morning routines, or morning chaos, you, O God, are present. Help me also to be present. In difficult conversations, in comforting words, you, O God, are present. Help me also to be… Read More
Revised Common Lectionary: Parables
With what shall we compare the realm of God? It is like a dream that is out-of-season and planted for another day. Hidden away it germinates & wonders, roots & grows, until one day it erupts from its hiding place to bloom and be harvested. (Mark 4:26-29) With what shall we compare kin-dom of God?… Read More
The Pastoral Is Political: The Politics of “Just”
I have served almost exclusively in small-town and rural congregations in the Upper Midwest. Each of those congregations has a quilting group that makes dozens, sometimes hundreds, of quilts each year. Today I’m thinking about two of those groups. In one group, one of the members made it her special ministry to cut up the… Read More
